September 10, 2003
Albany--While it appears one driver just lost control in last Friday's Fatal accident, a detailed investigation will look at everything from driver error to road conditions and mechanical failures. That tedious process began Tuesday.
Exiting a bypass ramp, fifty-one year old Frankie Riley lost control of her Kia Sportage hitting a median, going airborne and slamming into thirty year old Kell McKaskill's pickup truck. McKaskill lost his life. Riley is listed in good condition but is awaiting charges.
Sergeant Craig Pittman of the Specialized Collision Reconstruction team says "We have both vehicles at the wrecker yard that are secure together. We hope to get there today and do our inspection of them. What we do then is find out if anything was mechanically wrong with the vehicles that might have contributed to this crash.
This Team is working carefully to conclude the cause of this accident using measuring devices and orange paint to do a forensic mapping of the crash. "All this signifies, it lets us mark it so when we come back to do what we're doing today it let's us know where everything was at," explains Pittman.
Accidents such as Friday's fatal crash can take months to investigate. Pittman claims, "We're already about ten more cases this year prior to this time last year and the cause of that, there's only six of us that do this on our team in this area and we work forty-two counties in southwest Georgia. "
It is important for the investigation to be done carefully so any charges made will be accurate. Pittman said "We compile the whole case report and then we get the on scene trooper, we come over here to lee county, we'll meet with the prosecutor and go over the case together and sometimes we'll make a decision."
That decision should give McKaskill's family and friends some answers and could have an overwhelming impact on the rest of Riley's life.
Posted at 9:37 AM. by jennifer.hulsey@walb.com
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